1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a totally self-contained, complete printing system including a color transfer unit such that the system requires no other machinery in order to achieve its purpose.
2. Description of Related Art
Computerized composing machines are in the printing industry. Some machines, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,196,400; 4,521,814 and 4,538,183 include the ability to scan images. Other patent disclosures of possible interest include U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,007,362; 4,051,538; 4,333,153; 4,439,790 and 4,475,162.
There also exists devices that can be used to transfer a releasable layer to a printed object. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,484,970 discloses a reverse process in which ink on a printed sheet prevents the adherence of foil from a transfer web. Other patents of possible relevance to that concept include: 2,770,629; 3,634,174; 3,654,016; 4,288,275 and 4,373,984. U.S. Pat. No. 3,519,512 discloses a "Method and Apparatus for Applying Designed Indicia to Articles". Ink or similar material is initially applied to an article such as a paper sheet. The printed article then passes under a heated transfer station where foil is pressed against the surface of the article bearing the ink. The heat and the pressure cause the top portion of the foil to release and stick to the ink on the article thereby transferring color to the article. That basic system has been known for several years and is available commercially as a manually operable unit. The present invention has been able to successfully automate and integrate a color transfer unit into a computerized composing system. During the prosecution of my copending application Ser. No. 934,924, the following patent references were also cited: 3,519,512, 4,240,119, 4,408,868, 4,591,904, 4,638,372, 4,641,197, and 4,642,659.